A Canadian anti-tariff ad triggers end of all US-Canada trade talks

The US has terminated all trade negotiations with Canada following a row over a Canadian television advertisement that protested American tariffs.

On Friday, October 24, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he was ending all trade talks with Canada.

"The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is fake, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. Tariffs are very important to the national security and economy of the USA. Based on the egregious behaviour, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated," read the post.

The dispute centres on an anti-tariff television advertisement, which, according to the Ronald Reagan Foundation, fraudulently used footage of the former President criticising tariffs on foreign goods. The ad, which reportedly cost $75,000, was shown in the US. Premier Doug Ford of Ontario confirmed earlier in the week that the ad, which showed Reagan speaking against tariffs, had drawn President Trump's attention.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute also issued a statement, alleging that Canada’s government had created the campaign using "selective audio and video" of Ronald Reagan in an anti-tariff "propaganda" ad directed at Republican voters.

The development follows comments from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who stated that Canada aims to double its exports to countries outside the US due to the threat from Trump’s tariffs. Prime Minister Carney also maintained that Canada would not grant unfair market access to the US if trade talks failed.

According to multiple international publications, PM Carney said that the decades-long process of an ever-closer economic relationship between the two countries is now over. He highlighted that the US has "fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression." Carney warned that jobs in Canadian industries such as autos, steel, and lumber are under threat from the tariffs, leading businesses to hold back on investments due to uncertainty.